


The Sound Of Forgiveness (Screaming And Then Silence)

by Tht0neGal666



Series: rairpair naruto 2019 [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Kidnapping, Multi, Past Murder, Possession, Pre-Relationship, Root - Freeform, Sai is trying to grasp relationships and emotions, Sob Story, Team 7 is feral, The Foundation, Timeline What Timeline, but they're still codependent lol, its a little fucked up ngl, you could probably squeeze this into canon but. it's best if you don't try
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 23:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21144827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tht0neGal666/pseuds/Tht0neGal666
Summary: "You knocked them out?" He questioned, still toneless, but a little too fast to not hear the nervousness. A cruel smile crawled up her face."I did. What of it? Are you going to beg for their lives, like you didn't give me the chance to do?" She hissed, and that regret was much more tangible now that his experience wasn't being filtered through his emotionless ROOT mindset. He had the urge to apologize again, stronger now, even though he still wasn't sorry.





	The Sound Of Forgiveness (Screaming And Then Silence)

**Author's Note:**

> Daily reminder that I'm absolute team 7 trash and also adore Sai more then Sasuke oops =) like they're both great but Sai more so and Sakura agrees with me at least 63% of the time.

"Oh little ANBU, what are you going to do now?" The enemy nin purred, and Sai woke with a silently. He looked around, assessing the situation as subtly as he could. Quickly, his eyes landed on a woman with an Iwa headband and a malicious smirk on her face. She either didn't mind or didn't notice him wake up, as she kept talking. "I simply can't _wait _to watch you watch your teammates die! It's only fair, you know- an eye for an eye and all that."

"Who are you?" He interrupted blankly, trying to place the woman in front of him.

"Who _am I?" _She growled, snapping her teeth. "I'm the girl you couldn't give the mercy of a swift death to, after I _watched you kill my sister_, little ANBU. I _begged _you, and you didn't say _anything to me- _you left! You left me to soak in the blood of my sister you _monster_, and- and-" She ranted, staring at him with a raw intensity, and he didn't react.

"And you don't even _care_, do you? You don't even _remember me!" _She realized with dawning horror, studying his non-reaction, and the most startling thing to happen since he woke up tied to a chair was the worryingly-close-to-emotion _pang _of almost-regret. 

He had the strange urge to _apologize_, even, but he didn't- he wasn't really sorry. He didn't remember the woman, but he only killed when it was ordered. He didn't feel sorry for not killing someone- frankly, he thought, if she wanted to die so bad then she could've done it herself.

"Whatever." She shifted tone suddenly, shaking her head. "Whatever. It's not like I expected _basic human decency _from _you." _She seethed.

"How did you find me?" He asked mechanically, and she snorted.

"It was complete coincidence, if you'd believe it. I was on a mission and I _felt _your Chakra signal- like I could ever _forget it_\- and, wouldn't you know it, the boy of my nightmares was _maskless_ and following a couple of other bafoons around like a _dog_. And, well, I couldn't just let you get away with having the camaraderie and happiness that you denied me- probably denied _countless other people_\- like that, now could I?" She mock-pondered, and he frowned.

Teammates? That was odd, in itself. Most of his missions were single person assassinations. And, even when he did work in a team, he certainly wasn't closely bonded to anyone. Who could she be talking about? Was it just the ravings of a mad-woman? 

"Really the Konoha ANBU training must be _magnificent_ if you can tolerate those annoying _brats _for so long. I'd almost respect it if I didn't hate you with every bone in my body. Honestly, _pink _and _blonde _hair on Shinobi? How _loud _they were all the time- I bet I could have found you without sensing! I thought you were supposed to be black-ops- are those two even _trying?_" She scoffed, and his eyes widened.

All at once, he was snapped out of the familiar ROOT mindset, and remembered everything from the past months- years? He remembered getting punched in the face for a fake smile. He remembered enthusiastic awe and compliments for his art that he always had to actively try not to take pride in. He remembered the horror on their faces when he talked so _casually _about killing people, and his own confusion at their horror. He remembered wondering what love was- if maybe it was having frosting rubbed on his nose, and getting taken out for ice-cream or ramen on bad days, and not even _noticing _how openly calm and happy he is when he watches them argue about breeds of dog.

He remembered _Naruto _and _Sakura, _and his blood ran cold.

"Ah- _yes! _Yes, that look! That look is what I've been craving for _years_. Lets see how much mileage we can get ou-"

"You knocked them out?" He questioned, still toneless, but a little too fast to not hear the nervousness. A cruel smile crawled up her face. 

"I did. What of it? Are you going to _beg _for their lives, like you didn't give _me _the chance to do?" She hissed, and that regret was much more tangible now that his experience wasn't being filtered through his emotionless ROOT mindset. He had the urge to apologize again, stronger now, even though he still wasn't sorry.

He didn't.

Instead, he tried not to panic. She said that she _knocked them out_, which meant-

"Ha! Take that, you dumb fox! Can't even _break through a wall _properly, can you? 'Lotta good a bajillion-or-whatever years of existence has done for you!" A maniacal voice- not _quite _familiar, but close- snarked as the wall to the left of Sai exploded. Their was a bit of stone lodged into his thigh, now, and he didn't even notice it.

"Pah, little wench. If I tried to knock down a simple _wall_, none of you puny fleshy _mortals _would survive." another almost-familiar voice returned gruffly, and the first gave a shrill laughter that made the later whine about the sharp sound.

"Oh? So you admit to having absolutely _no _Chakra control? Aren't Kitsune supposed to be _smart?_"

** _"well I'm smart eno-" _ **

"What- _who-" _The enemy nin stuttered, shaking in fear (or maybe anger? Sai still wasn't very good at reading people) and trying to catch up with the sudden turn of events. 

Her interruption shuts up their petty bickering for an entire second, before they both _lunge _for her. Sai winces in sympathy.

"You _bitch _what were you going to _do to her- to him- to us_-" The pinkette was snarling, pounding the woman into the ground, and the blonde clawed at her without any intelligible language. 

There were many (justified) jokes and jabs and teases about his teammates being _feral _among those who knew them but, really, no one making those jokes knew _the half of it._

By the time they decided to stop _destroying _the enemy nin, Sai had already compartmentalized whatever greif he was feeling and escaped from his bonds. He cleared his throat and they turned on him, ready for another fight.

He waved.

"Hello, you two. It's been a little bit." He greeted, and he didn't ask if they were alright, or if their other halfs were. Really, with how fast both of them heal, it'd be an _insult._

"Brat." the blonde grunted in acknowledgement, sharpening his nails-morphed-to-claws on a _bone _he had apparently picked from their kidnapper.

"_you Dick_." the pinkette shrieked threateningly, grabbing him by his shirt and throwing him to the ground. He winced as the stone shrapnel he finally noticed dug into his leg, and she _yanked _it out roughly and healed it. "why didn't you _dodge_?" She scolded, and he sighed. 

Really, Naruto and Sakura were _civil _in comparison to Inner and Kurama.

"I was immobile." he informed her, and she scoffed.

"Well then you _deserved _the hit. Why'd you get us kidnapped in the first place?"

"Someone was seeking revenge for something I did while I was in The Foundation." He recounted, and she _punched him _when she heard his detached tone. Kurama grunted in agreement, but his eyes were closed- probably switching back with Naruto. From what Sai gathered, he wasn't very fond of inhabiting a human body. 

"Fuck. You have any idea how often I wanna revive Danzo just so I can get a fucking swing at him?" She pondered, grounding her heel into the floor and cracking it, and he shook his head.

Cathartic or not, he couldn't ever see himself wanting _Danzo _sentient ever again.

Then Inner blinked, and her eyes rolled back, and Sai was catching her before she even fell back- he had practice. In the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto standing up and stretching with a yawn. He grinned at the blonde and the blonde smiled back automatically, and it made something in Sai stutter _every time_.

"Sai." Sakura breathed, opening her eyes, and he nodded. She went hazy eyed for a second as she spoke to Inner, and then he was being pulled into a bone-crushing hug-

from _both sides_, apparently, as Naruto hugged him from behind. He couldn't breath, but he couldn't complain. It was _nice_, to have someone so openly care for him, even if it was still...unnerving, at times.

"You're ok?" Naruto asked, breath hot on Sai's neck, and he managed to nod. Naruto sagged a little in releif, but Sakura only hugged _tighter_. "She- She said you were _dying_." Naruto whispered, almost _whimpered_. 

"We gotta find whatever knockout-gas she was using. It had a chakra draining agent I'd never encountered before- I couldn't filter it." Sakura stated clinically, and Sai nodded again.

Eventually, they peeled away from each other to go grab the gas and get back to their camping site- in total, it had only been about 12 hours, and they were _tired_. Sakura had a chakra pill or three- someone still had to take watch, afterall.

But, that night, the three of them laid _awfully close together_, Naruto cuddling with him and littering him with a million releived kisses while Sakura sat right next to their heads and played with their hair, on a tireless and paranoid watch.

Sai still didn't know if it was love- maybe he never would- but he knew he was _comfortable enough to fall asleep_. That had to mean something.


End file.
